Singapore-based nature-based solutions project developer Thryve.Earth announced that it has signed a series of long-term offtake deals with Google, McKinsey and Tencent to remove more than 635,000 tonnes of carbon through a new agroforestry project restoring 6,000 hectares of degraded land in Indonesia.

The agreements mark the largest carbon removal commitment to date for Google, and Tencent’s first nature-based offtake commitment outside of China.

Founded in 2022, Thryve develops nature-based solutions carbon projects in South and Southeast Asia that restore ecosystems. The new project is based in Sulawesi, Indonesia, one of the most biodiverse and carbon-rich regions on Earth, but with tropical rainforests that have been significantly degraded through a series of factors including shifting agriculture, soil erosion, and invasive species.

The project aims to restore the land utilizing a mixed crop farming system that includes an upper tree canopy consisting of sugar palm plants and timber trees, a mid-layer of papayas, avocado, coffee, and bananas, and ground-level annual crops such as chili and corn.

According to Thryve, in addition to sequestering carbon, the project will also generate a series of additional environmental and social benefits, including improved soil health, reduced fire risk, and increased biodiversity, as well as increased and diversified income for local farmers and the creation of regular job opportunities for local community members through activities such as planting, nursery work, early maintenance, and clearing of invasive plants and fire-prone grasses.

Ron Steinherz, Co-Founder and COO of Thryve.Earth, said:

“Turning degraded grassland back into productive forest is, above all, an operational challenge. By pairing high-quality saplings and rigorous field protocols with verifiable monitoring of every hectare, we give our partners confidence that the carbon removals and community benefits are real, measurable, and built to last.”

The agreements mark Thryve’s first corporate offtake deals, with the organization noting that carbon offtake commitments will help it raise financing for the project by providing volume and price certainty.

The new 10-year agreements include commitments of over 335,000 tonnes of carbon removal offtake by Google and McKinsey through their participation in the Symbiosis Coalition, and a separate deal for 300,000 tonnes by Tencent.

The agreement marks the Symbiosis Coalition’s third carbon removal project to date, and its first in agroforestry.

Julia Strong, Executive Director of Symbiosis Coalition, said:

“The Thryve project demonstrates that positive community and ecological outcomes are not just co-benefits of high-integrity projects but importantly are  co-drivers of success. The long-term offtakes from Symbiosis members give the Thryve team the certainty they need to build at scale, and that’s exactly the kind of signal that unlocks the impact of this market and of projects like Thryve for people and planet.”

Photo Credit: Thryve.Earth